Vancouver’s Recon Instruments is launching its Recon Partner Program, aimed at collaborating with developers, independent software vendors and system integrators to help deploy and monetize software for Recon’s enterprise smart-eyewear products. Last June, Recon was acquired by Intel, so they have more than adequate resources at their disposal to enable a robust software development partnership program. “The Recon Partner Program is a tremendously valuable resource for the enterprise ecosystem,” said Christopher Croteau, Senior Director of Strategic Business Development, Head-Worn Devices, Intel. “This program doesn’t just facilitate and accelerate the work of Recon Partners from a development perspective; it also enables them to monetize their software by leveraging Intel’s customer base as well as our sales-and-marketing resources.” Recon Instruments was founded in 2008 by Dan Eisenhardt and Chief Technology Officer Hamid Abdollahi, and has remained headquartered in Vancouver’s Yaletown after the Intel acquisition with its team intact, with full access to Intel’s technology know-how and resources allowing the company to scale and to develop new applications for its smart eyewear. Incentives for potential partners to participate in the Recon Partner Program include matchmaking opportunities with Intel customers that already deploy Recon smart eyewear, co-marketing opportunities, prioritized support, early access to next-generation Recon hardware and software, and pricing discounts on Recon hardware. The company’s Recon Jet eyewear is a modular, ruggedized, water-resistant, Android-powered smart wearable, with a sunlight-readable display, support for prescription inserts, a user-swappable battery and a selection of user-swappable clear and tinted lenses. Although the Jet was developed for endurance sports, in March Recon partnered with Mutualink to bring their smart eyewear to first responders, including firefighters, medical personnel, police officers, and SWAT teams. While the IoT category is often publicized as an array of gizmos aimed at consumers, it’s really by developing industrial applications, such as for warehouse workers or miners or first responders, that companies stand to capitalize most. Initial partners in the Recon Partner Program already include APX Labs, Atheer, and Augmate, three companies that specialize in software for enterprise wearables. “By leveraging the robust features and versatile design of Intel’s Recon Jet Pro smart eyewear, we can offer an efficient wearable-computing solution that works out of the box and makes hands-on work easier and safer,” said Atheer VP of Business Development Ryan Fink. “Our AiR Suite for Enterprise software running on Intel’s Recon Jet Pro platform facilitates collaboration, management, rapid task flow creation (with drag-and-drop design), and deployment to deskless professionals in the industrial space.” In order to be considered for the Recon Partner Program, developers or companies and organizations must be experienced with Android software development, proactive in enabling commercial pilots and deployments, enable their software to work on Recon hardware, and be committed to developing high-quality software optimized for Recon smart eyewear. The enterprise version of the Jet, the Recon Jet Pro, features the same hardware as the Jet, but an operating system optimized for enterprise. Developers will be able to access the Recon Enterprise SDK later this quarter to help develop software and tools for the Recon Jet Pro. Although Recon Instruments has been looking more and more toward providing smart eyewear for first responders and enterprise purposes, their initial commitment to athletics remains strong. British athlete Joe Skipper began training with Recon earlier this spring and posted a 7:56:23 total time at last month’s Challenge Roth 2016, the fastest time ever set by a British triathlete, and is set to compete in the Ironman 70.3 Dublin coming later this month and the Ironman World Championship in October.